Clothes wringer



Dec. 22, 1931. .1. L. PERKINS ET AL 1,837,790

CLOTHES WRINGER Filed May 8, 1928 2 Sheets$heet l 3 INVENTORS. Mv ./q

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Dec. 22, 1931. J. PERKINS ET AL CLOTHES WRINGER Filed May 8, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. w. 4 M 7;; a

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Patented Dec. 22, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JULIAN L. PERKINS, OF. WEST SPRING-FIELD, AND-HIRAM D. CROFT, OF SPRING-FIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO PERKINS MACHINE AND GEAR COMPANY, OEWEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS CLOTHES WRINGER Application filed May 8; 1928. Serial No. 276,060.

Our invention relates to improvements in clothes wringers for washing machines, which wringers are adapted to be positioned either over the tubs of such machines, or out of such position beyond said tubs, being swung on supports between the different positions.

One object of our invention is to produce a comparatively simple and inexpensive wringer, of the class described, in which the wringer rolls normally are in horizontal instead of vertical relationship to each other, whereby clothes from the tub below can be fed to and taken from said rolls more conveniently, directly, quickly, and to better advantage generally, than when the rolls are ar ranged one above the other, as has heretofore been the customary arrangement.

Another object is to produce a clothes wringer, adapted for use in connection with a washing machine, the rolls of which wringer may be located at various elevations.

Growing out of or resulting from the horizontal arrangement of the rolls, and the provision for locating the rolls at diiferent elevations, is the further object or advantage of rendering the wringer especially well adapted for use in a small room where-economy of space is desirable, not to say necessary, such as the kitchen or kitchenette of a small apartment. Frequently the height of the wringer can be so reduced as to enable said wringer to be stored out of the way under some object in the room, when not in use, where it would be impossible to store a wringer having vertically arranged rolls, or in which the head could not be adjusted vertically, or a wringer lacking both of these features.

Still another object is to provide the clothes wringer with safety means, whereby one of the rolls can be instantly released and permitted to become separated from the other roll, in the event the clothes being fed between them become bunched to an extent which is liable to injure the wringer, or in case the operator gets her hand between the rolls while in operation.

A still further object is to afford means, when the wringer head is swung to one side of or beyond the tub, automatically to disentub, because said rolls are idle at such a time.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description.

We attain the objects and secure the advantages of our invention, by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a top plan'of a clothes wringer which embodies a practical form of our invention, certain parts being in section and broken away; Fig. 2, a front elevation of said wringer; Fig. 3, a sectional detail of the supporting and bearing means at one end of the indirectly driven wringer roll; Fig. 4, a vertical section through said wringer, taken on lines H, looking in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a left-hand, side elevation .and partial section of the wringer head, taken generally on lines 5-5, looking in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1; Fig.

6, a sectional detail, as viewed from the front, of the frame which carries said indirectly driven roll, the same being independently movable and herein disposed in a vertical position, and a front elevation of the supporting members for said frame; Fig. 7, a bottom gear and hollow shaft showing interengaging mo portions thereof. 7

Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the several views.

A fragmentary portion of a base for the wringer is represented at 1, and in the first two views portions of a tub. of a washing machine are represented at 2, such tub being mounted on said base. Rising from the base 1 at the left of the tub 2 is a hollow column 3.

Mounted on and rising above the top of the column 3 is a tube 6. This tube has a pro jection 7 on one side at the bottom end, which project-ion is bored horizontally, as represented at 8, to receive clamping blocks 10 and 11, such bore opening into the vertical passage in said tube to enable said blocks to bear against the column 3. At the outer end of the block 11 is a handle 12, and said block has rigidly attached thereto a screw 13 which is tapped into the block 10.

Upon tightening the screw the handle 12 in the proper direction, the blocks 10 and 11 are drawn tightly into contact with the column 3, and thus secure the tube 6 rigidly to said column, it being understood that said blocks at their inner ends are always out of contact -with each other. Upon loosening the screw 13, the tube 6 can be raised or lowered on the column 3, after which said tube is secured in place by again tightening said screw. In this manner and by this means the squeezing element of the wringer can be located at different elevations, as will hereinafter clearlyappear.

The tube 6 has an exterior flange 14 thereon a little distance below the upper end thereof, and rising from said flange is a lug 15. The flange 14 may have a swinging handle 16 attached thereto for use in moving about the wringer and the washing machine with which said wringer is connected. Inside of the tube 6, between the upper end of the column 3 and the upper end of said tube, is a flange 17. Mounted on the upper terminal of the tube 6 and resting on the flange 14 is a hub 18 of a gear case 19, said case being part of a frame generally designated by the numeral 20 and which constitutes the wringer head. This head also' includes bearing boxes 21 and 22, the former being immediately ad-' jacent to the case 19. The connecting member between the bearing boxes 21-and 22 is necessarily arcuate in order not to interfere with the clothes fed from the tub through the squeeze element.-

There is a notch 23 in the bottom edge of the hub 18 to receive the lug 15 on the flange 14, one edge of said notch having a long incline, as represented at 24, in Fig.2. lVhen the lug -15 is in the notch 23 said lug holds the hub 18 in such a position that the wringer head 20 is located over the tub 2-. The head 20 may be swung forwardly and to the left, from its position over the tub, to a position at one side or beyond said tub, by grasping said head and moving the same in the aforesaid 13, by turning direction, exerting suflicient force to cause the inclined part 24 of the notch 23 to ride up on the lug 15, until the bottom edge of the hub 18 rests and rides on the top of said lug. Upon swinging the head to the right and rearwardly over the tub, the head 20 descends when the notch 23 arrives at the lug 15, and

the parts again become locked in place, with said head and its parts and members in operative position relative to the tub. There may be, and usually are, more than one lug 15 and one notch 23.

J ournaled in the column 3 and in the internal tube flange 17, and having at the up.

per end a head 25 to rest on said flange, is a hollow shaft 26, and in said shaft is a shaft 27 which is angular in section, as is the passage through said hollow shaft. The solid shaft 27 is the main drive shaft to which power is transmitted from any suitable source, and said shaft in turn drives the hollow shaft 26. At the upper terminal of the hub 18 is an internal flange 28 which rests on the top of the tube 6, and forms a bearing for a solid hub 29 of a bevel-gear 30 in the gear case 19. The rim portion of the bevel-gear 30 rests on the upper edge of the flange or bearing 28. The upper end of hollow shaft 26 is provided with teeth .or tongues 31 and the lower side of hub 29 is provided with a slot 31, see .Figs. 10 and 11, which are arranged, as at 31, to interengage normally and cause said bevel-gear to be driven from and by said shaft. When, however, the hub 18 is elevated, by swinging the wringer head forwardly and to the left, in the manner hereinbefore explained, the teeth and slot at 31 are disengaged, because then the whole wringer head, and with it the hub 29, is lifted until the slot on the bottom of said hub clears the teeth on the top or flange of the hollow shaft 26, and the bevel-gear 30. ceases to revolve, and remains idle until said head is swung over the tub again and said hub lowered onto the flange '14, at which time said teeth and slot reengage and said bevel-gear is set in motion.

The shaft 27 preferably terminates below the upperend of the hollow shaft 26 at a point in line with the upper side of flange 14.

Secured by pins 32, in each of the bearing boxes 21 and 22, is a bearing 33. A directly driven wringer roll.34 has a shaft 35 that is journaled in the bearings 33. One terminal of the shaft 35 extends into the gear case 19, and mounted on and secured to said terminal is abevel-gear 36 which interineshes with the bevel-gear 30. This roller unit can be made up with the left-hand or inner bearing 33 in place on the shaft 35, and then the bevel-gear 36 and said bearing can be passed through the right-hand or outer bearing box 22 and said bearing inserted in place in the left-hand or inner bearing box 21, the right-hand or outer bearing33 being inserted in said outer CAD box, after said inner bearing is in said inner box. Then the two bearings 33 can be secured with the pins 32. This makes an inexpensive roller unit, and one that is very convenient to assemble and disassemble.

The gear case 19 is open at the top to afford access to the interior thereof, and a cap 37 is provided for the opening.

Rising from the arcuate part of the wringer head 20, adjacent to the ends thereof, are bearing lugs 38 and 39, the former opening through the front side thereof, and both opening through outer, opposite sidessee Figs. 1 and 6. These lugs are provided to receive and afford bearings for trunnions 4040 on the inside, adjacent to the rear or lower ends (according to position) of two hollow arms 41- at the opposite ends of a transversely curved hood or guard 42. In connecting the trunnions 40 with their lugs, the right-hand trunnion is first inserted in the lug 39, and then the left-hand trunnion is inserted in the lug 38 from the front, the fit of the parts being sufficiently loose to enable this to be done. The left-hand trunnion 40 is held in the lug 38 by means of a. pin 43 passed down through the upper and lower parts of said lug. in front of said trunnion.

The hollow arms 41 and the guard 42 form a frame for an indirectly driven wringer roll 44 mounted on a shaft 45, such frame swinging on the trunnions 40 in the bearing lugs 38 and 39. When this frame is in normal position, the arms 41 rest on lugs 46 on top of the wringer head 20, and, when said frame is swung upwardly and rearwardly, the movement thereof is limited by a stop 47, with which the frame is provided at one corner, said stop then encountering the back side of said head, as illustrated by broken lines in Fig. 8. upwardly, according to the position of the frame, from the left-hand or inner arm 41.

The forward or upper end (according to position) of each arm 41 is closed, and the opposite end of said arm has a tapped opening therein to receive a screw 50. Within the arm at the permanently closed end thereof is a bearing block 51, and interposed betweensaid block and the screw 50 is a spring 52. The outer or upper end of the block 51 is notched to receive one terminal of the roll shaft 45. as best shown in Fig. 3.

The shaft 45 is of suflicient length to eX- tend into both blocks'51, and the roll 44 is then positioned between the arms 41. The springs 52 tend constantly to force the blocks 51 toward the permanently closed ends of the arms 41. There are slots 5353 in the inner sides of the arms 41, adjacent to the permanently closed ends of said arms, to permit the bearing-blocks 51 to be inserted in said arms, and to accommodate the shaft 45. In the bottom of the right-hand arm 41 is a slot or opening 54 which is in open communi- A handle 49 extends forwardly orcation with the slot 53 in said arm, as clearly shown in Fig. 7.

. In assembling to locate the roll 44 in position, one of the bearing blocks 51 is introduced through the slot 53 inthe left-hand arm 41, and the left-hand terminal of the shaft 45 is inserted through said slot into said are introduced into the two arms through the open ends thereof, and the screws 50 inserted in said ends. The tension of'the springs 52 may be increased or decreased by turning the screws 50 in or out accordingly.

The parts and members are so relatively. proportioned that, when the frame is swung down onto the lugs 46, the roll 44 encounters the roll 34 and is forced rearwardly thereby, against the resiliency of the springs 52. Also, when clothes are passed between the two rolls, the rear roll is forced still farther back. Thus it isseen that, when the roll 44 is in operative position, the springs 52 constantly exert a pressure on the bearing blocks 51 in such a manner that said blocks, through the medium of the shaft 45, force said roll tight ly against the roll 34, or against any clothes between said two rolls, and that, if the front roll be rotated, it imparts rotation in the opposite direction to the back roll, and clothes passing between the two rolls cause said back roll to rotate. At these times the blocks 51 are forced inwardly away from the closed ends, of the arms 41. Upon swinging the frame upwardly, until the roll 44 is clear of the roll 34, the springs 52 immediately act to force the blocks 51 against the closed ends of the arms 41, as shown in Fig. 6.

The roll 34 must be rotated in a contrary clockwise direction, by the driving mechanism therefor, .in order that clothes introduced between said roll 44 fronrbelow will time, provide means that can be easily and quickly released, should the operator get her hand between the rolls, or the clothes become bunched so as to clog the rolls. To these ends we provide. latch mechanism of the character described below.

Projecting outwardly from each arm 41 adjacent to the lower front corner thereof,

when said arms are located horizontally, is a lug 55. Pivotally mounted at each end of the head 20, as at 56, is a latch 57 in the form of a bell-crank-lever, one arm of the same extending upwardly and having the latch head at the top thereof, and the other arm extending forwardly. A rod 58 rigidly connects the forward ends of the latches 57 and extends in front of the'head.

The left-hand latch 57 extends upwardly through an opening 59 in the top of the head 20,- and then forwardly through an opening 60 in front of said head, and a spring 61 encirclesthe left-hand pivot 56 and is arranged to bear on the top of the forwardly extending arm of said latch, and on the under side of said head, in the manner shown in Fig. 5. Thus the spring 61 has a constant tendency to rock the left-hand latch 57 forwardly at the upper end and downwardly at the forward end, and with said latch,throughthe mediumof the rod 58, the right-hand latch in a corresponding manner. The heads or hooked parts of the latches 57 are positioned to be engaged by the lugs on the arms .41, when the frame is swung downwardly, whereby said latches are rocked on their pivots 56, against the resiliency of the spring 61, to allow said lugs to pass below said hooked parts, and then said latches are released to said spring and said hooked parts engage said lugs. lVhile the lugs 55 are engaged by the latches 57 the frame 1s held down on the lugs 46, with the roll 44 on the same horizontal plane with the roll 34, and in engagement with said last-named roll or with the clothes therebetween.

The lugs 55 and the bottom edge of the slot limit the movement of the latches 57 under the influence of the spring 61.

Upon raising the rod 58 the latches are actuated or rocked on their pivots '56, against the resiliency of the spring 61, in the direction and to an extent sufficient to disengage said latches from the lugs 55, thus releasing the frame. Due to the direction of rotation of the rolls, the roll 44 now rides upwardly on the roll 34, and the frame can be thrown over to remove the roll 44 from the immediate vicinity of the roll'34. Thus it is possible instantly to disengage the roll 44 from the roll 34 and thereby prevent injury to the hand or damage to the wr-inger, and also to enable said first-named roll to be thrown up out of the way.

The handle 49 is provided to facilitate moving the frame to locate the roll 44 in operative and inoperative positions.

Assuming that the wringer head 20 is located at the desired elevation, that the roll 44 is in operative position relative to the roll 34 and both rolls are over the tub2, and that the shaft 27 is in motion, the operation of the wringer as a whole is briefly described as follows:

The shaft 27, through the medium of the hollow shaft 26, the teeth 31, and the hub 29, drives the bevel-gear 30, and that in turn drives the bevel-gear 36, the shaft .35, and the roll 34, and said roll drives the roll 44.

- The clothes from the tub 2 are inserted from below in the bite between the two rolls, and said rolls simultaneously carry said clothes upwardly between them and squeeze the water therefrom, the operator receiving the clothes in her hands and guiding and removing themas they emerge from between the rolls at the top. If, at any time, or for any reason, it be desired or necessary to disengage or throw out of operation the roll 44, the operator simply raises the rod 58. In the event this isdone, the roll 44 is afterward reengaged with the roll 34 and thereby caused to resume rotation, by grasping the handle 49 and forcing the frame downwardly onto the lugs 46, where said frame is held by lugs 55 and the latches 57.

The rod 58, forming a part of the lock releasing mechanism is so arranged with respect to the rolls as to be disposed in the path of the forearms of the operator. As the operator feeds the clothes upwardlybetween the rolls and in case she catches her fingers in the bite of the. rolls, there is a natural tendency for the operator to straighten up and pull away from the rolls entirely. By positioning the rod 58 in the manner asdis closed, the rod will be caused to be actuated when the operatorstraightens up and pulls away from the wringer and the actuation of the rod 58 will result in the release of the latches so that theguard unit carrying the driven roll will be free to swing upwardly, thus preventing the operator from sustaining any 1n ury.

At the end of the wringing operation, the operator swings the wringer head 20 for wardly and to the left and thereby removes said head from its position over the tub 2. This movement of the head causes the hub 18 to ride up on the lug 15 and thus disengage the teeth 31, thereby disconnecting the power from the bevel-gears which drive the roll 34. The power is reapplied to the roll 34 as soon as the head 20 is swung over the tub again.

More or less change in the shape, size, construction, and arrangement of some or all of the parts of this clothes wringer may be made, without departingfrom the spirit of our invention, or exceeding the scope of what is claimed.

We claim:

1. The combination, in a clothes wringer, with an uprightsupport having an engaging part, a hollow driving shaft in said support, said shaft having an engaging part, and a driving shaft for said hollow shaft, of a head provided with a hub which is mounted on said support, and has an engaging part adapted to cooperate with said first-named engaging part in raising and lowering said hub and head when they are swung on said support, a transmission member having an engaging part to cooperate with said secondnamed engaging part to cause said transmission member to rotate when said hub is in its low position, and to remain inactive when said hub is in its high position, coacting rolls carried by said head, and means to drive said rolls from said transmission member.

2. The combination, in a clothes wringer, with a hollow column, a tube slidingly mounted on said column, and having an engaging part, means to secure said tube to said column after adjustment thereon, a hollow shaft supported in said column and tube, and having an engaging part, and a shaft in said hollow shaft and relatively non-rotatable with respect thereto adapted to drive the same, of a head consistingin part of a gear case provided with a hub which is mounted on said tube, and has an engaging part adapted to cooperate with said first-named engaging part in raising and lowering said hub and head when they are swung on said tube, a bevel-gear in said case and having a hub with an engaging part to cooperate with said secend-named engaging part to cause said second-named hub and bevel-gear to rotate when said first-named hub is in its low position, and to remain inactive when said first-named hub is in its high position, a shaft journaled in said head and provided'with a. bevel-gear to intermesh with said first-named bevel-gear,

a roll on said last-named shaft, a second roll carried by said head, and means to hold said second-named roll in contact with the first.

3. In a clothes wringer, a head having outer and inner bearing boxes, bearings fitting said boxes, means to secure said bearings 1n said boxes, a shaft j ournaled in said bearings, a roll on said shaft between. said bearings, and a transmission member on said shaft outside of one of said bearings, each of said boxes being large enough for thepassage therethrough of said transmission member ,and said roll and the entrance thereto of each of said bearings, whereby said transmission member and its associated bearing can be passed through said outer box, said member can be passed through said inner box, and said associated bearing can enter said inner box.

4. The combination, in a clothes wringer, with a head provided with bearings and with bearinglugs, one of said lugs having openings in two adjacent sides thereof for assembling purposes, and being providedwith a pin which extends across one of said openings. and a roll having a shaft journaled in said bearings, of a frame having trunnions j ournaled in said lugs with one trunnion held in place by said pin,

5. In a clothes wringer apparatus, a wringer base having an upwardly extending tubular portion, a support rotatably mounted thereon,'a hollow shaft in said tubular portion, a

frame rotatably and reciprocably mounted on the upper end of said support, a gear rotatable in said frame, interengageable clutching elements carried by the upper end of said hollow shaft at the lower end of said gear.

6. The combination in a clothes wringer apparatus of, a wringer base having an upwardly extending tubular portion, a hollow support on said tubular portion, a hollow shaft having its lower end j ournalled in said tubular portion and its upper end j ournalled in said support, a frame reciprocably and ro- 'in' said support, a frame mounted for rotatable and reciprocable movement on the upper end of said support, a gear rotatable in said frame, and driving connection at the upper end of said hollow shaft and the lower end of said gear.

8. A wringer apparatus comprising in combination, a wringer base having an upwardly extending tubular portion, a tubular support mounted on said tubular portion for reciprocating and rotating movements thereon, a hollow shaft having its lower end jonrnalled in said tubular portion on the base for rotatin nalled in the upperend of said support, a shaft extending through the tubular portion of said base into said hollow shaft, a frame mounted on the upper end of said support for reciprocating and rotating movements, a gear rotatable in said frame, interengageable -clntch elements carried by the upper end of said hollow shaft and the lower end of said gear andmeans associated in said frame and said support adapted for engagement when the frame is rotating relative to the support to move the frame longitudinally of the support to disengage the clutching element.

9. In a clothes wringer, a frame, drive and driven rolls arranged substantially in a horizontal plane in the frame, the driven rolls be ing capable of translation to an inoperative position with respect to the drive roll, locking mechanism for normally holding the rolls in an operative position, and release means for movements and its upper end jour- V the locking mechanism arranged in the path driven rolls arranged substantially in a horizontal plane in the frame, the clothes being fed to the rolls from beneath, the driven roll being capable of translation to an inoperative position with respect to the drive roll, a latch mechanism for normally holding the rolls in an operative position, and a release rod connected to the latch mechanism and arranged in the path of the operators arms.

11. In a clothes wringer, wherein the clothes are adapted to be fed from beneath, a frame, a guard unit pivoted to the frame, a driving roll journaled in the frame, a driven roll for engagement with the driving roll journaled in the guard unit, a lug carried by the guard unit, a pivoted latch mounted on the frame for engagement with the lug to normally hold the rolls in an operative position, and a release rod operatively connected with the latch for moving said latch out of engage ment with the lug to permit the swinging movement of the guard unit and the driven roll away from said frame, said release rod being arranged in the path of the operators arms.

12. In a clothes wringer,- wherein the clothes are adapted to be fed from beneath, a frame, a guard unit pivoted to said frame, drive and driven rolls j ournaled in the frame and guard unit respectively, said rolls being arranged in substantially a horizontal plane, a lug on the guard unit, a pivoted latch carried by the frame for engagement with the lugs to normally hold the rolls inan operative position, and a release rod connected to the latch for moving the same out of engagement with the lug and permitting the swinging movement of the guard unit and the driven roll away from the frame, said release rod being arranged in the path of the operators arms.

JULIAN L. PERKINS. HIRAM D. CROFT. 

